Monthly Archives: February 2014

Hethurin Fairsong looked around the room as Renner covered the windows. Desdeyliri stood next to him at the table in the center of the room. It was the first time that he would be demonstrating the visions of alternate realities to one of his students, but he wasn’t nervous. Desdeyliri was, or seemed to be. Perhaps she was just excited. He conjured a globe of light as Renner covered the last window.

They would be using the dust again that they had gathered from the strange portal that had appeared in the kitchen one night a few weeks ago. It had lasted a few hours, and they knew now that it had led to the past as well as an alternate reality, one where Tik hadn’t lived through the Scourge attack. The school in that reality, wasn’t a school at all, and never would be. It sat unattended, and in ill-repair.

“Let’s begin.” Renner said as he joined the elves standing at the table. Hethurin let the globe of light fade as he turned the hourglass and cast the spell. The room changed around them.

“This is the kitchen, isn’t it? It looks different.” Desdeyliri said as she looked around.

“No one lives here.” Hethurin answered. “Remember, it’s just a vision, so you can’t touch anything. We can walk around and look at things though.”

Renner nodded towards the dining room, “I’d like to pick up where we were last time.”

Hethurin whispered the spell that took them directly to the other room. The dining table had been broken. The chandelier had fallen in the middle of the table, and there among the remains of the table and the chandelier was a single bronze scale. Hethurin bent to look at it closer. “Did you find out if this is yours or not?” he asked, looking at Renner.

Renner opened his mouth to answer as Desdeyliri knelt by Hethurin. He didn’t get a chance to answer right away, as Desdeyliri spoke first. “Is that…” she looked at Renner, her eyes wide.

“It appears to be. Whether or not it’s mine, I don’t know. If you saw a flake of skin on the ground, would you be able to identify it as yours?”

Hethurin frowned. “Then how are we supposed to find out?”

Renner shrugged, “We should look around more. Even if it is mine, I doubt I made the portal in the kitchen. We should figure out who did that first.”

Hethurin nodded in agreement and stood. As he did, Desdeyliri jumped up, and walked towards the windows. They had been broken here, most of the panes were shattered on the ground. Hethurin knew there was no danger of getting cut, so he didn’t stop her. He followed instead. “Did you see something?”

Desdeyliri nodded as she looked out into the over-grown garden. “I don’t see anything now, but I was sure I saw something move out here”

No sooner had she finished her sentence, when a shadow fell over the garden. The beating of large wings came from above. Desdeyliri stuck her head out and looked up with a gasp, “Look!”

Hethurin looked as well. A bronze dragon, not too large, but large enough slowly came to a landing behind the house. It was the same color as the scale, and about the same size as the broken window. “Renner? Is that you?” He looked back as Renner approached the window as well.

Again, Desdeyliri spoke before he could answer, “Is it? Can I ride him?”

Renner raised a brow. “It is me, and no.”

Hethurin added, “We’re really in Renner’s practice room. This is just a vision of another time and reality. It would be a tight fit if our Renner turned into a dragon in his practice room.”

“That’s a very good point.” Renner nodded.

“But this alternate Renner is what you really look like?”

Renner paused in thought as he watched his dragon form in the garden. “Yes, but that’s really me, not an alternate me.”

“How can you tell?” Hethurin asked.

“I just can.”

At that moment the other Renner seemed to realize that he was being watched. He looked directly at the dining room window where three stood.

“You’re sure he can’t see us, right? He’s just a vision?” Desdeyliri asked as she took a step back.

Renner nodded as his other self turned and spread his wings. “I appear to have recalled that we’re watching.” His dragon self lifted from the ground and circled the house once before disappearing over the trees to the north.

Hethurin stepped over the broken glass and into the garden. Renner followed him. Desdeyliri went last, but was the first to gaze on the fresh dragon tracks. She knelt and held her hand to one of them.

It wasn’t the dragon tracks that got Hethurin’s attention, but rather the smaller shoe tracks. “Renner? How big are your elf feet?”

Renner walked over to where Hethurin stood and looked at the prints with him. He put the heel of his boot on the heel of the track. “These aren’t mine.”

“Your feet are smaller.” Hethurin put his own foot on the track. It was a match.

“These are older tracks though.”

Hethurin nodded, “They go towards the trail that leads to the stable.”

“Let’s check that out.”

Hethurin cast a spell to change the location to the bottom of the hill where the stable and one of the small houses were. His sisters lived here in his time and his reality, but in this one, the building looked just as abandoned as the school.

Until they went inside. Someone had been living there, and fairly recently. The first room had some old, but usable furniture.

“Do you think whoever was staying here is gone?” Hethurin asked.

“I don’t see anyone.” Renner answered.

Hethurin walked around the room, looking for any further clues. The only art on the wall was some poorly done drawings on some old paper. He couldn’t find anything that was written and out in the open. Of course, searching through drawers was difficult in a vision. He heard Desdeyliri call from the kitchen.

“There’s food here, but it doesn’t look good anymore.”

Renner nodded as she returned to the first room. “Whoever was here is gone then. Try not to yell. Remember we’re in my practice room. Hethurin, have you found anything?”

“I don’t think…” Hethurin trailed off as he did find something. A name in the corner of one of the drawings. Vaildor. “Yes.”

“What is it?” Renner walked over to see. Upon viewing the name, he said, “Try going to your parents’ house in Silvermoon.”

Hethurin nodded and cast the spell. The vision started to change, but snapped back to the small house at the bottom of the hill. “What am I doing wrong?”

“It’s nothing you did. It’s warded. Let’s take a break for today. I think I smell supper.”

Nessna Amberlight paused at the top of a hill overlooking the Dead Scar. Tylenthis paused next to her. So far, she had been impressed with his ability to walk quietly. She had half-expected that he would bumble along next to her, breaking every twig possible underfoot, but that hadn’t been the case. In fact, it was she who made more noise, but only just barely. She was still recovering from her injuries received in Orgrimmar, and wasn’t quite as stealthy as she used to be. Still, she was well enough to be on patrol.

She knelt down in the tall grass, looking over the Dead Scar. She nodded towards a figure walking along the middle of the darkened ground, and whispered quietly, “That’s her.”

Her older sister had always made fun of her for liking the forest, and ‘playing in dirt’. Nessna felt it was rather ironic now as she watched her press a wooden marker into the soil and walk a few yards away, towards the edge of the scar. She sat, on the ground, and took some papers out of the satchel she carried. She was, no doubt, noting things about her ley-lines.

“Your sister? She doesn’t look dangerous.” Tylenthis whispered as he crouched in the grass next to Nessna.

“Poisonous berries don’t look dangerous, but they’ll still kill you if you eat them. I’m not saying she is dangerous now, but I do think we need to keep an eye on her. She and Hethurin do not get along at all.”

Tylenthis frowned silently. Both of them quieted and took notice of Vallindra putting her papers back into her satchel and walking along the further edge of the Scar. She stopped along where an old path used to cross, poking her staff into the dirt. She paused to look up the path. It was one that led back towards town, but on the hill next to it was one of the old Scourge ziggurats. Vallindra started up the path.

Nessna motioned for Tylenthis to follow, and backed down the hill they had been watching from.

“We’re going to cross the scar a bit further south then double back up. I want to get closer to make sure it’s ley-lines she’s working on.” Nessna whispered as she climbed over a fallen tree. She and Tylenthis quickly crossed the Scar after going a bit south of the path, then headed back towards the hill with the ziggurat on it.

They slowed as they neared it, unsure of where Vallindra was exactly. Tylenthis was the one who first saw the footprint. It had been freshly pressed into the damp soil near the path leading towards the ziggurat.

“She didn’t go in that thing, did she?” Tylenthis asked, his brow arching.

“She might be outside, on the other side still.” Nessna answered, unsure herself where exactly Vallindra had gone.

They crept nearer, staying off the path, and hidden by the tall grass lining it. Nessna held out her hand, signalling Tylenthis to stop. At the same time, she pressed her finger to her lips. Vallindra was behind the Scourge ziggurat, and they were much closer than she had wanted to be. Her sister wrote in her notes again, holding the book against the ziggurat’s outer wall to use it as a flat surface. Nessna could tell from this distance that some of the papers were definitely maps. If she was up to something other than mapping ley-lines, she was going a long way to cover it up.

Vallindra folded her notes, and put them back in her satchel. She paused to poke at the dirt next to the ziggurat once more. Nessna bit her lip as she heard her sister curse. Vallindra stood, looking at the ziggurat. She walked around it to the stairs leading up inside.

Nessna motioned for Tylenthis to stay where he was as she rounded back towards the front of the structure. She watched from the shadows in the thick growth next to the path as her sister walked up to the entrance. Please don’t go in. Nessna thought. Vallindra went in.

Nessna hurried back to where Tylenthis waited. She whispered, “I need you to continue staying here. If you need to get help, wait until it is safe to do so. The town is that way.” She pointed as she turned to hurry back, not leaving Tylenthis any time to argue.

The steps leading up into the ziggurat were old and crumbling. Nessna went up them carefully. Stairs still gave her problems at home, and the loose stones didn’t make her feel any more confident. Luckily, there weren’t many steps to go up. She made it to the top, glancing quickly towards where she had left Tylenthis. She couldn’t see him. That was a good thing. She stepped towards the entrance and peered inside.

It was dark. A wall blocked the view further in the structure, and a ramp led down on either side of the wall. Nessna decided to go right. She stepped lightly towards the ramp, peeking around the wall as she could. It curved along with the outer wall, until it ended. A pale green light filled the inner room of the ziggurat. Nessna peered around the edge of the wall into the open room.

Vallindra was there. She knelt, looking at something on the floor. She was not alone. Another figure moved on the other side of the room. Nessna strained to see in the low light in the building. It looked like one of the undead, but it moved less fluidly as it lurched towards Vallindra. Despite its jagged movements, it was quiet. Nessna could tell right away that it was one of the mindless undead. She nocked an arrow onto her bow. At that same moment, Vallindra’s ear twitched. She spun around and cast a quick fire spell at the scourged body, at the same time Nessna’s arrow pierced its neck. Vallindra spun again, almost casting another fire spell, but stopping as she saw who had shot the arrow.

“Nessna. I didn’t expect you here.”

“I could say the same of you. You know Hethurin lives in this area. He won’t be happy to know you’re here.”

“Is he still using that stupid name?” Vallindra rolled her eyes. “Sanimir doesn’t need to worry. I’d rather have nothing to do with him.” She glanced down at the floor.

Nessna’s eyes followed hers. She could see better now that her eyes had adjusted to the dark. There were lines and circles on the floor. “What is that?”

Vallindra hesitated briefly, and answered with a frown, “I was trying to figure that out. One of the ley-lines in the area has been re-routed to this ziggurat. It’s quite the puzzle.” She glanced at the dead, again, Scourge. “I don’t think it’s his, anyway. You need half a brain to be able to make something like this.”

Nessna looked once more at the markings. She started to step closer, but Vallindra spoke.

“Don’t you have a patrol or something to be on?”

“Well, yes, but…” Nessna looked at the dead again Scourge on the floor next to the odd markings.

“I had that. I didn’t need your help.”

Nessna frowned. Vallindra probably could handle it on her own, and she had cast a spell at the same time the arrow had done its job. She didn’t have much argument to stay and find out more. At least, not for now.

“Be careful, Vallindra. It’s really not that safe along the Scar yet.” Nessna said, watching only long enough to see her sister’s ear twitch again. She turned, and went back outside to join Tylenthis.

Teniron Whitemorn double-checked out the window to make sure Kit had really gone. She had some letters to take to town, and it was his only time to work on finishing her gift. He saw no sign of her so he went to his work bench and opened the bottom drawer. He had hidden it under some of his plans and patterns. He pulled out the small box and opened it. Inside was a small piece of jade, only partially shaped, but enough that the basic form was showing the shape of a wind serpent. His plan was to turn it into a pendant for a necklace. The chain was already finished. He only needed to add the details to the serpent and it would be done.

He took it out and started working on it. He needed to finish before Kit returned.

***

Nessna Amberlight wasn’t really sure what to get for Sath’alor. After all, they hadn’t had much time to talk alone yet. Still, she thought she should get something to show that his gifts were well-received. Lani had plans to go into Silvermoon to get something for her Confessor. Nessna followed her up to the school when she went to ask for her portal so that she could tag along as well.

She brought Rylad along with her. He had recently taken his first steps and was already working towards running. Sometimes he went too fast for himself and wound up falling. He would certainly need to be watched closely in the market if he wanted to be put down. Luckily, for now, he was content to ride in his sling.

She wandered through the market, purposefully losing her sister. She’d look for her again when it was time to go. She came upon a stall with some camping equipment, and was looking at the pocket knives and sleeping bags.

Rylad started squirming in his sling as she looked over the items set up on the display. He reached towards the ground while giving a little cry.

“You want to get out for a bit?” Nessna asked while lifting him out of the sling. She put him down on his feet next to her and held his hand as she continued to look. One of the pocket knives also had a spoon and a fork, which she thought was funny, but practical.

Rylad tugged at her hand as he bent forward to look in a box under one of the tables. He pulled out a tin frying pan with his other hand and laughed.

Nessna wasn’t quite sure what he found funny about it, but she knelt beside him to look in the box with him. Besides the pan, there were two plates, two cups, and a cooking pot. They looked to be all part of the same set. She lifted the pot and found two more tin glasses underneath, these were shaped more as wine glasses than the cups were. She smiled at Rylad, “I’ll tell him you helped me pick it out.”

***

Lanthiriel Lightmist had lost her sister almost as soon as they arrived in Silvermoon. It was just as well. She didn’t want her seeing what she was buying for the Confessor, nor making comments about it. She already knew half of the gift. Lani had knit a scarf for him. It was blue. Nessna had insisted that it wasn’t his color and that winter was almost over. He wouldn’t need it. Lani had decided then that it couldn’t be the only thing she got for the Confessor. She quickly hurried to the market.

She was overwhelmed before even walking inside the wine shop. Some wines were better than others. The Confessor had said that himself. She tried to remember the kind that Nessna had received, but she didn’t know the name of it. She remembered the colors of the label though, and she thought perhaps she would recognize it. Her sister had told her it was a good wine and she wasn’t allowed to give that one to the Confessor. Nessna had hidden it anyway, so she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to make a mistake and give it to the Confessor if it was someplace she didn’t even know.

She was surprised to find that most of the labels looked fairly similar, as if there were some sort of standard colors and lettering that they had to use, or perhaps they were all done by the same person. She frowned as she looked at the shelves. Did the price matter? Expensive wines were good wines, right? Maybe she should have asked Nessna’s advice before losing her.

She frowned and took one of the moderately expensive bottles from the shelf. Surely, it had to be good.

(( I have a few more of these planned for this week. This is just the beginning! ))

Tik had taken to smiling back at Lilithel when she smiled at him. He was still unsure if it was merely a friendly gesture, or if she was smiling because she liked him. He was still unsure about himself, too. It had been years since he had a lover, and she had been the only one he had ever known. He didn’t know if he was ready or not to move on.

He had told the confessor that she would have, and he believed it was true. Of course she would have. Death wasn’t even needed in her case. Her husband had been alive and well all the while.

Tik was startled when Lilithel stopped and walked up to him on one of her trips through the kitchen.

“Are you busy tonight?” she asked.

“I am. I’ve had a few requests for private suppers. Was there something you needed help with?”

She frowned slightly, but quickly put on a smile again, “No, I’ll be all right. Maybe you’ll be free another evening.” She turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Tik went back to his work.

***

Hethurin Fairsong was sure what he wanted to get for Terellion as a special gift for the holiday. He had recently learned to bring someone with him to the past, and a night out with Terellion did sound like fun. Of course he had to check with Renner first, but supper in Dalaran sometime during the next week sounded good. He knew the perfect place, and if he went before he had started studying there, then there would be no chance of running into his younger self.

For tonight, he had asked Tik to serve a special dinner in the room. There was a table and two chairs there. It would be a romantic supper by the fire. Hethurin had caught the fish in Northrend by himself. He thought those were the best fish. He hoped Terellion would like it.

***

Perothis wandered through the stalls at the market in Silvermoon city. He hadn’t been sure what to get for Desdeyliri, but after speaking to his mother about it, he had a little more direction. His mother had asked what she liked. She liked magic, of course. She was studying it, but he had no idea how to pick out books for her on the subject. He had actually tried going to look at the books, but left the bookshop more confused than he was when he went in. His mother had then asked what else she liked. Dresses. Robes. But Perothis didn’t have a lot of money to spend, and anything she had was already better than what he could buy.

Then his mother asked if she liked tea. Of course she likes tea. Everyone likes tea. Even being in a boarding school for magic students, a girl should have her own tea set, according to his mother. And so, off he went to find the perfect tea set for the girl who intrigued him so much.

He came upon the tea shop, and found a variety of sets, as well as some teas. Buying the tea was fairly easy. The woman running the shop was full of suggestions. He wound up getting some that was from in Quel’Danas. Perhaps the magic of the sunwell had infused itself to its leaves! He couldn’t think of a better tea for a magic student.

The set was proving more difficult. Many of them were flowery, most to the point of being gaudy with bright pink flowers and green leaves painted all over. He personally couldn’t see how anyone would like that. There was one set with naked men painted inside the cups, which he thought was funny, but not a very appropriate gift for the holiday.

There was one that caught his eye. The tea-pot had a dragon head on the spout and the handle was shaped as the dragon’s tail. Little blue flowers were painted along the bottom of it and another dragon snaked along the opposite side, it’s head being part of the pot’s lid. The cups and saucers were decorated similarly. It was perfect.

I still don’t know if I’m going to be able to do this. I should have said something when they asked if I had any preference. I need to learn to speak up sometimes.

I bought a bow. It was ‘too small’ according to her. I couldn’t hit anything with it either, which was embarrassing. I blamed the bow, too, though it was probably due more to my lack of training and practice than anything else. I’m a builder, not a ranger.

We stopped to eat, next to the dead scar, which was lovely at that time of the night. Simply beautiful. I’m not serious. It was awful, and I was sure some undead thing would come to kill us at any moment. I tried not to show my fear.

We talked a bit. At first it was all neutral stuff. She asked about my family, but I didn’t tell her too much. They’re all dead anyway. I was able to turn the conversation around to talk about her family. I guess most of her family is gone too. She has a brother, but apparently, he doesn’t listen to relationship advice from her. I can hardly blame him. She brought up the party. I told her I didn’t want to argue about it, but she wanted to argue about it. At least it was a quiet argument as we were on patrol. I’m not even mad about it anymore. I just don’t want it to cause problems, and I’m not sure it won’t.

She told me that the way I handled the party is why I’m still single. I don’t know how to talk to women or something. Like she’s any better with men!

Anyway, we didn’t see anything, though I heard a lot, and I don’t just mean from her. On the way back, it was dark, and I could have sworn someone was following us. There were all these strange noises in the woods. I was glad when I saw the house.

I’ll be going to Silvermoon later today for supplies for the ranger building. I need to buy a new bow while I’m there. I’m hoping the captain will go with me to help me pick one out!

Tik looked up and glanced towards the door as it opened. Lilithel had been working on cleaning the floors today, which included taking the rugs out to the garden to beat them. It was one of the tasks that needed to be finished before the students returned from their trip to Shattrath, and she had been back and forth through the kitchen for most of the afternoon.

She smiled as she passed him on her way through the kitchen. He smiled back. They had exchanged smiles all day, but only a few words. This morning she had asked what breakfast would be, and had informed him that she would be a little late for it as she wanted to check on the animals first. She mentioned hearing some noise outside during the night, and wanted to make sure they were okay when there was enough light. He had kept her food warm, and asked if everything was fine when she returned. It was. He didn’t blame her for waiting for daylight to check on them. The Ghostlands were least welcoming at night.

He turned back to the sink to finish washing the dishes, and watched as she left the room out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to talk to her more. As he had told the confessor, he did find her attractive, and he thought that she might be interested. However, each time he had the chance to talk to her today, he decided he wasn’t quite sure enough. What if she didn’t like him, and she was just being friendly? Asking her to eat supper by candlelight would be more than a friendly gesture, and things could get awkward fast if she wasn’t interested.

He dried the last dish and put it away. It wouldn’t hurt to wait a bit. He was sure it wasn’t the last time the Magister would take the students and Terellion to Shattrath. There would be time to get to know her a little bit better before asking anything that she may not like.

He glanced again towards the door as it opened. She carried another rolled up rug to the other door, once more, flashing him a smile. He smiled back as he headed towards the dining room. He had other work to finish before the students returned.

“We’ll have enough time for this, won’t we?” Hethurin Fairsong asked as the Renner covered the last window, causing the room to go dark. Hethurin quickly conjured a glowing orb over the table in the middle of the room as a light source, which illuminated the room just as Renner gave him that look. Of course there was time. It’s rather silly to ask a bronze dragon if there’s time. “We should get started then. I’d like to be in Shattrath later today.”

Renner nodded, “You went over the spell alterations that I gave to you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then let’s find out where the intruders went to.”

“It won’t make any noise like the real portal did, will it? I don’t want people to come here to see what it is.”

“No. This will just be the vision of where, and when, the portal went, not an actual portal. If we’re lucky, they’ll still be there. They won’t be able to see us, but we’ll be able to see them.”

Hethurin nodded and cast the spell. The room changed. The school kitchen appeared, except it was in another time when the school didn’t exist. Hethurin looked around. Perhaps it was more than just another time. “Tik isn’t here. No one’s taking care of the place.”

Renner frowned silently.

“When are we?”

“Judging by the decor, this house was never your school. This is another reality, but I believe we are in the past as well. Tik’s absence is only the first clue to that. Look at the floor. It’s the old tiling that you had replaced last summer. At the same time, the building isn’t in such disrepair that it could have been abandoned for long. The portal was more complicated than I first thought.”

“Renner? Doesn’t it seem familiar?”

“Besides residing here in another reality and time? Now that you mention it, yes.” Renner looked around once more before looking at Hethurin. “It is strikingly similar to the last vision.”

Hethurin nodded, “I think so too. It seems odd that if no one knows we’re watching during these visions that we’ve wound up following a portal to the same one.”

“We don’t know that for sure. There could be many realities that are similar to this one. We should see if we can find anything.”

“What are we looking for?”

“Anything that might give us an idea of who was here and where they might have gone.”

“Oh. So we’re looking for clues. Maybe we should bring a blood knight with us next time.”

Renner’s eyebrow shot up, “A blood knight?”

“Oh yes! I just read some stories about a blood knight adventurer who traveled the world, and he’d look for clues to solve mysteries…” Hethurin’s voice trailed off as he noticed the look Renner was giving him. “I’ll just start looking over here.”

Hethurin walked around the kitchen while Renner examined the spot where the portal would have been. They couldn’t touch anything. They couldn’t pick anything up. It was just a vision of what was there. Hethurin could walk through the walls here if he wanted to, but he found the idea of it a little disconcerting. He had made a teleportation error once, when he was learning and trying things he wasn’t ready to try yet. He had wound up with his arm stuck in a wall then. He waited for Renner to finish inspecting the kitchen before teleporting the vision to the other side of the door.

The dining hall was eerily quiet as they made their way around the table. It had broken at some point when the chandelier had fallen on it. Hethurin didn’t think it was so long ago that it had fallen. The cracked wood looked freshly broken, and not much dust had accumulated yet. He looked up. The ceiling looked fine, but the chandelier had still fallen. He was about to dismiss it as poor installation, and something he should check when they got back when he saw something glint in the pale light streaming in from the broken windows. He walked closer to see.

“Renner?”

“Yes?”

Hethurin looked up from the object, “Is this yours?” He pointed at the shiny yellowish-brown object which rested in the remains of the table. It looked like it could be a dragonscale.

“Odd.” Renner said as he approached it.

“Are you putting portals in my kitchen?”

“I…” Renner paused, looking at the bronze dragonscale. “I’m sure there’s an explanation. It might not be mine. It could be someone else’s scale.”

Hethurin looked at Renner, expecting more of an explanation.

“It’s time to go to Shattrath, isn’t it? We wouldn’t want to be late. We’ll come back to this when we return.”

Hethurin frowned, but cast the spell to end the vision. Renner was right. It was time to leave.